All Cannings and Allington War Memorial Cross, All Cannings, Wiltshire

Entry Name: All Cannings and Allington War Memorial Cross

Listing Date: 2 November 2017

Grade: II

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1450977

ID on this website: 101450977

Location: All Saints Church, All Cannings, Wiltshire, SN10

County: Wiltshire

Civil Parish: All Cannings

Built-Up Area: All Cannings

Traditional County: Wiltshire

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Wiltshire

Tagged with: War memorial

Summary

First World War memorial cross, unveiled 1920.

Description

The memorial stands in the northern corner of the churchyard of the Church of All Saints (Grade II*), adjacent to the main road through the village and the principal entrance to the churchyard. It is in close proximity to a number of Grade II-listed buildings and churchyard monuments.

The memorial comprises a stone wheel-head cross rising from a large tapering plinth and a single-stepped base. The face of the cross is decorated with an equal-armed cross bottonée carved in low relief. The memorial stands in a gravelled area, bordered by a low stone kerb with small pillars at each corner.

Arranged down the front of the cross shaft in raised lettering, an inscription reads TO/ THE/ FALLEN/ 1914/ 1918/ THEIR NAME/ LIVETH FOR/ EVERMORE with a small Maltese cross carved below.

On the front face of the plinth in raised lettering the principal dedicatory inscription reads TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN/ GRATEFUL MEMORY OF THE MEN/ OF ALL CANNINGS AND ALLINGTON/ WHO DIED IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR/ KING AND COUNTRY DURING THE/ GREAT WAR/ (NAMES).

This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 22 November 2017.

History

The aftermath of the First World War saw the biggest single wave of public commemoration ever with tens of thousands of memorials erected across England. This was the result of both the huge impact on communities of the loss of three quarters of a million British lives, and also the official policy of not repatriating the dead which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.

One such memorial was erected at All Cannings in 1920 as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by 15 members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

Reasons for Listing

All Cannings and Allington War Memorial, which stands in the churchyard of the Church of All Saints, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the First World War.

Architectural interest:

* a simple yet poignant wheel-head memorial cross;
* unusually, the cross has not been adapted for Second World War commemoration, and thus retains its original design intent.

Group value:

* with the Church of All Saints (Grade II*) and a number of Grade II-listed buildings including Church Hatch, the Corner Pier to the garden of The Old Rectory, and a group of churchyard monuments.

External Links

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.